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Chance
"It is all that is left unsaid upon which tragedies are built."
— Kreia
A chance encounter with a Beowolf leads Jaune to stumble across a strange mask.
Tropes in this chapter include:
- Artistic License – Biology: In-universe, there's a fictional movie that claims the Grimm's eyesight is based on movement. This is totally inaccurate, as Jaune finds out the hard way when he tries to use this trick on a Beowolf.
- Cathartic Exhalation: After squeezing himself through the cliffside's fissure and into a larger cavern, Jaune lets out a sigh of relief as he has escaped the Beowolf and is no longer in danger of being pinned by rocks and starving to death.
- Double Take: Jaune does a double-take when he realizes the cavern he's hiding in has red lighting, having previously not noticed due to being high on adrenaline from escaping the Alpha Beowolf.
- Dull Surprise: Jaune's reaction after touching Nihilus' mask unlocks his Aura and makes his body glow.Jaune: Woah, trippy.
- It Began with a Twist of Fate: This all starts with Jaune's decision to take a shortcut through the forest on his way to Beacon. Had he simply taken the highway, then he never would have encountered the Alpha Beowolf, got chased into a cave, and find the Mask of Darth Nihilus.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Having never received combat training, Jaune knows that he stands no chance against an Alpha Beowolf and doesn't bother trying to fight it, instead opting to flee.
- Oh, Crap!: Jaune has this reaction when he runs into an Alpha Beowolf while walking through a forest.Jaune: Ohhhhh sugar honey iced tea that's a big Grimm.
- Quizzical Tilt: The Alpha Beowolf that attacks Jaune reacts this way when Jaune tries to hide from it by standing absolutely still.
- Run or Die: Against an Alpha Beowolf, there is nothing an untrained and Aura-less Jaune can do aside from running away as fast as he can and praying that the Grimm doesn't catch up to him.
- The Runaway: The fanfic starts hours after Jaune snuck out of his home in the early hours of the morning to enroll at Beacon without his parents' knowledge.
- Savage Wolves: The Alpha Beowolf that attacks Jaune at the start of the chapter definitely counts.
- Staring Down Cthulhu: Subverted. Jaune stares down an Alpha Beowolf, causing the Grimm to briefly hesitate... before immediately launching into a Deadly Lunge, forcing Jaune to run away in terror.
- Stress Vomit: Downplayed. When Jaune comes face-to-face with a Grimm, the feeling of terror makes him feel like he wants to vomit out the leftover spaghetti he had for breakfast.
- Super-Persistent Predator: Averted with the Alpha Beowolf. While it does chase Jaune into a cave, once it's clear that the Grimm can't fit into the cavern and Jaune stays inside long enough, the Grimm eventually gives up and leaves.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: The Alpha Beowolf Jaune encounters in this chapter is more or less the cataclysm for everything that happens in this fic. Had it not chased Jaune into a cavern, he wouldn't have found the Mask of Darth Nihilus.
- Wham Line: The chapter ends on one as Jaune leaves the cave with his new prize.So with a nod, a smile, and a never ending sense of optimism, Jaune continued to make his way towards Beacon, having unknowingly become the newest owner of the mask of Darth Nihilus.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: The first time that Jaune encounters a Grimm, he assumes it can only sense movement à la Jurassic Park and freezes up so he won't be noticed. Unsurprisingly, this doesn't work and the Beowolf even gives a Quizzical Tilt as though it can't believe the sheer stupidity of its prey.Jaune: (thinking) Curse you movies! Why would you lie to me!?
